


I marinai tornano tardi

by Laura_Vitale50



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: AU, M/M, Songfic, Steve is still Active duty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_Vitale50/pseuds/Laura_Vitale50
Summary: A songfic inspired by a song that never fails to make me emotional.I listened to it tonight and I wrote this.I hope it's not terrible.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	I marinai tornano tardi

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Steve and Danny met when they were around 35 and fall in love. Danny never met Rachel nor had a daughter with her.  
> Set in a world where DADT has never existed or was repelled long ago, Steve is still active duty and Danny is not a cop.
> 
> This short fic was inspired by an Italian song that I love called “I marinai tornano tardi” by Murubutu. I roughly translated the parts I used to make it understandable for you all non-Italians. The translation is not literal, but I hope it is understandable.

**I MARINAI TORNANO TARDI**

  
_Nonostante il mal di mare che le torceva le reni (Despite the sea-sickness)  
Lo avrebbe seguito su tutte le rotte, tutte le volte (she would have followed him everywhere, everytime)_

They have just reunited, and are now basking in the intoxicating closeness, nose to nose, limbs intertwined and voices barely audible.  
“What would you think of going to Hawaii, Danno?”  
“Hawaii?”  
“Yes, I’m going to be stationed there from next month”  
“Well… sand, constant heat, bugs and too much wilderness for my tastes but…Where you go, I go, babe, you know that.” He whispers back, fingers gently caressing Steve’s head that rests on the pillow.  
  
\------

_Nonostante i trent'anni che parevano un'era lei (Despite the 30 years that seemed a lifetime)  
Lo attendeva ancora alla sera, svaniva l'intera candela (she still waited for him, an entire candle burning)  
Non sai mai quando torna chi lavora nel mare (you never know when a sailor will be back)  
Quando ti abitui all'assenza rieccolo lì che compare (When you get used to the absence, he gets back)  
Lei rimaneva in attesa del suo sorriso frugale (she waited for his smile)  
Come se l'acqua ed il sale lo trattenessero in zone lontane (It was like the ocean kept him far away)  
  
_

Ten years since he had met Steve and fell in love with him.  
Waiting had become a constant in his life: holding his breath till the moment he saw Steve again, fear, loneliness and worry for his lover battling constantly.  
Then, there he is: tall, sure walk, soft smirk in place that steals his breath all over again, negative thought swept away by the rush of love.  
Six months this time. Who knows how long he’ll be away next time?  
And he knows it will hurt. More than it did before when he will have to go again, but he wouldn’t give up this time he has for nothing.

\------

 _E ogni volta chiedeva: e questa volta che fai?_ _(Everytime she asked: What will you do this time?)  
Forse era una domanda scema (It may be a stupid question)  
Resti? _ _(Will you stay?)  
O vai? (Or will you go?)  
Che fai? (What are you going to do?)  
I marinai tornano tardi (Sailors get home late)_

Laying in bed, the early morning Hawaiian sun warming up their still sleepy bodies, Danny exhales softly.  
“Do you have to go?”  
“You know I have to, love”  
“Yeah I know” he sighs resignedly.  
He watches the tall man get up and dressed in his neat uniform, sad eyes staring at the body of his lover for the last time in who know how long.  
Steve takes the duffle, bends down and softly kisses the blond man.  
“Stay.” He whispers brokenly.  
“I can’t. I’ll be back” and he’s gone, leaving a void in the other man soul, a lone tear escaping.

\------

_Sicché lui le raccontava ciò che aveva visto fra le onde (He told her what he’d seen while at sea)  
Ma tu non farti ingannare le parole sanno come tradire (But words can be deceiving)  
Questo è un mestiere pessimo, qualche scorcio colpisce (This job is awful, some little things are beautiful)  
Per il resto è solo fatica e una solitudine che annichilisce (the rest is only strain and a loneliness that kills you) _

“You know, we saw a pod of whales. There were some calves too, it was beautiful. And the weather too, we haven’t had a single bad day.” The sailor says with a little smile, but his eyes cannot hide the sadness and weariness he feels.  
Danny listens eagerly, hands stroking his lover’s back, wondering how many bad things Steve saw in the last three months that they can’t talk about.  
So he takes what little fragments he can and tries to hug the sadness away.

\------

_Poco tempo e partiva, lo vedeva sparire all'aurora e (Little time together and then he was gone again)  
Lei seduta sulla poltrona lo immaginava intagliare la bruma (She imagined him sailing)  
Verso porti e moli, a trenta nodi, nuovi Soli (towards ports and piers, going at thirty knots)  
Oppure lottare contro muri furiosi di schiuma (or fighting against waves like walls)  
E sarebbe tornato, sì, sarebbe tornato (But he would be back)  
E sarebbe riuscito a stupirla ancora (He would surprise her again)_

It’s been two weeks from the day when Danny watched him leave again, at four in the morning, the familiar void retaking his place in his heart.  
He sits on the couch, sketchpad on his lap, wondering if Steve’s okay, what is he doing now.  
He wonders if the ocean is quiet or if there’s a storm wherever he is, waves breaking on the sides of the ship he’s on, salt water and rain crashing on the deck. He wonders how he is, if he got enough sleep, if he misses him as much as Danny does. If he’s still alive.  
“He will be back.” He thinks, staring at the wedding ring Steve put on his finger last time he was home.  
Tears slide unnoticed on his face, dripping on Steve’s smiling form, in full uniform, staring up at him from the sketchpad.

\------  
  
 _A vederla in attesa, qualche turista chiedeva ai locali (Seeing her wait some tourists would ask to locals)  
Cosa fa quella vecchia alla sera con gli occhi sul porto? __(Why is that old lady staring at sea in the night?)  
Rispondevano: aspetta che il marito torni dal mare dal mare (They answered: she’s waiting for her husband to return from the sea)  
Sono dieci anni che è morto (It’s been ten years since he died)_

There’s a man sitting on the bench near the airstrip, eyes pointed at the horizon but unseeing, an aura of sadness surrounding him.  
“Who is that man?” The young sailor asks to his teammate.  
The lieutenant eyes turn sad.  
“He comes here every year on this day, waiting for his husband to come back” he pauses and the young man is about to ask what is wrong with that when the older man continues: “He died ten years ago”

\------  
  
 _Quando taci a cosa pensi?_ _(What are you thinking of when you’re silent?)  
Il nostro amore è di silenzi (Our love is made of silence)  
Cara mia ma dove guardi? __(What are you looking for at sea?)  
I marinai tornano tardi (Sailors get home late)_

It’s been twenty years, Danny is now 65, sitting in their chairs, watching the sun rise at the horizon.  
He smiles, hands reaching out, ring glistening in the sun. In his hand a picture of him and his beloved, too many years ago now.  
“I’m coming Steve” he smiles and closes his eyes for the last time, limp fingers letting go of the picture they were holding.  
They are finally together again.


End file.
